“WHAT DELIGHT! WHAT FELICITY! YOU GIVE ME FRESH LIFE AND VIGOR. ADIEU TO DISAPPOINTMENT . . . WHAT ARE YOUNG MEN TO ROCKS AND MOUNTAINS?” – Elizabeth Bennet about her plans to go the Lake District

I finally heard back from two publishers this last week. Each declined publishing Pride and Persistence but in two very different ways. The first was what one might determine as constructive criticism. I believe the letter was intended to give details of why my book would not be picked up, but the tone was blunt, yet I still appreciated the honesty. Here are a few quotes for you.

· “Most people when they are browsing in a bookstore or online for that matter will only give a book 6-20 paragraphs of a chance to catch their interest. There just wasn't enough in these critical first paragraphs to catch interest.”· “There are many contrived dramatic moments that would need to be questioned, ie. Lizzy has book knowledge of surgical and medical procedures” There was little praise or encouragement besides a brief, “Don't be discouraged, do continue to write and hone your craft and when you have something else for us to consider, please know that you are welcome to submit it.” I admit I was disappointed a little since this was my publisher of choice and they had offered little encouragement. I told myself that this was the first of many opinions that people will share about my writing. Some will be good. Some will be bad.

My second publisher was vastly different. Here are some of the things they said:· Your writing is strong and so is the premise· It’s clear you had a good time writing this book· Your joie de vivre really shines through.I of course was still saddened but left with a lighter heart. The reason they declined it was because they thought the market was saturated with JAFF. What? For those of us who read JAFF and share this addiction, we are always searching for the next good book. We beg borrow and steal for the next one. I hope those of you out there are excited for when Mr. Darcy’s Promise comes out in July. Addicts must get their blunt from somewhere, self-published or not.Nevertheless, even though I did not know what “joie de vivre” meant, I knew it was something good. Since then I have looked it up. It is French and means “love of life”. Now I fully appreciate the positive feedback that they gave me. Recently I had to edit my author’s biography and one of the lines I use is that “In all her still-under-forty years, Jeanna has never claimed to be this happy”. I think that says it right there. I am happy and I have a love of life, more so than any other time in my life. Rejection is hard, but it is just part of life, and you gotta love it. Jeanna EllsworthHey Lady Publications

I can never get enough JAFF so I am excited to add your stories to my reading list when they come out. Hopefully you'll have better luck with publishers. I admit to knowing next to nothing about publishing things but because JAFF is a niche market I'm glad more people are self-publishing their stories for addicts like me.

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About the Author

Jeanna is a mother of three daughters, all whom are well versed in Pride and Prejudice; they are her best friends and the inspiration for her writing. She also proudly states she is the eighth of thirteen children. When she isn’t blogging, gardening, cooking, or raising chickens—or more realistically, writing—she is thoroughly ignoring her house for a few hours at a time in order to read yet another romance novel. Somewhere between being a mom, sister, writer, and cook, she squeezes in three 12-hour shifts each week as a Registered Nurse in a Neurological ICU. She finds great joy in her writing and claims she has never been happier.

Jeanna fell in love again with Jane Austen when she was introduced to the incredible world of Jane Austen inspired fiction. She can never adequately thank the fellow authors who mentored her and encouraged her to write her first novel. Through writing, Jeanna has gained something that no one can take away from her: hope for her own Mr. Darcy. More than anything, she hopes to prepare her three best friends to look for their own Mr. Darcy and to settle for nothing less. Jeanna’s works include: Mr. Darcy’s Promise, Pride and Persistence, To Refine Like Silver, Hope For Mr. Darcy, and Hope For Fitzwilliam. She is eagerly working on her first attempt at an original Regency romance novel: Inspired By Grace. For more information on these books, please visit her website, www.HeyLadyPublications.com